Yvonne St-Denis

Life-long resident of Sudbury, I have returned to my Alma mater to train the next generation of nurses.  This full circle trajectory began with experience in orthopedics and quickly followed with a career in adult critical care.  My experience includes cardiovascular thoracic ICU, neurosurgical/trauma and medical-surgical ICU as well as emergency all located in a regional referral level I trauma center.  In addition, my experience extends to include program development starting first in a ten-year position funded by the MOHLTC to develop French language services within designated institutions in the Sudbury area. I was also the inaugural Organ and Tissue Donation Coordinator with the Trillium Gift of Life Network between 2003-2005 and extended the development of the region's organ donation program with the introduction of cadaveric tissue retrieval.  I continued to practice ICU nursing in tandem with my academic career until 2015.  The pursuit of knowledge and expertise continued throughout my nursing career first with the East Metro Critical Care Education Program (EMCCEP) and again through the Emergency Nurses' Association Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC) and Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) offered through the American Heart Association.

My PhD research is a retrospective design focusing on neurological assessment in acute care settings of northern Ontario hospitals.

Baccalaureat in Nursing (1986) Laurentian University

East Metro Critical Care Program (1988) Centennial College, Scarborough, Ontario.

Maîtrise en sciences infirmières (2003) Université d'Ottawa

Interdisciplinary PhD, Northern and Rural Health (candidate), Laurentian University

Assistant Professor (2006)

My research agenda is focused on care provided in neurosurgical settings. While my Master's thesis and research examined the impact of traumatic brain injury on immediate family and measured the presence and level of dysphoria in the first 72 hours following the event, I turned my research lens towards the care provided to the victim in the immediate period following presentation to hospital.   More precisely, my research focus examines the neurological assessment of adults following a mecanism of injury that presents a risk factor for brain injury.   A retrospective chart review has been conducted for cases of mild, moderate and severe head injury dating back to a maximum of 10 years.

• Le prix de la famille St-Denis en sciences infirmières / St-Denis Family Nursing Excellence Award
  
• An award created in honour of my family celebrates the academic acheivement of nursing students as they pursue their professional career.  The St-Denis Family Nursing Excellence Award /Prix d'excellence en sciences infirmières de la famille St-Denis was first awarded in June of 2017 the a nursing graduate for the best score on the HESI nursing practice exams and CAT (computerized adaptive testing).  This award recognizes the discipline and determination required in preparation to obtain licensing in present day professional programs.  Inspired by my father, the late Dr. Raymond St-Denis, MD, and several family members who either are health care professionals themselves or professionals in others disciplines, and all of whom would stand behind an award that celebrates commitment towards personal acheivement, dedication, ethical and safe practice standards.
  
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St-Denis, Y., Wenghofer, E., Young, N. & Rukholm,E. Neurological  Assessment in the Acute Care Practice Environment of Northern Ontario Hospitals : A Review of the Literature.  Diversity of Research in Health Journal / Revue de la Diversité de la Recherche en Santé.  Vol 1, pp 44-60, April 2017 – ISSN 2561-1666 Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario

Muray, K., St-Denis, Y., & Lavoie, A.M. (2015) Pensée critique et innovations dans la formation universitaire. Éditions Peisaj, Québec.

Lavoie, A.M., Pilon, R., St-Denis, Y. & Chartrand, M. (2013) La formation infirmière au Canada. Soins. 372 (780) p. 16-18

Muray, K., St-Denis, Y. & Lavoie A.M. (2011) Les inégalités à l’environnement et santé. Actes du Colloque international francophone pour l’évaluation environnementale. http://sifee.org/actes_colloques.html

St-Denis, Y., Coutu-Wakulczyk, G. Popiea, E. & Labbé, R. (2003) Les 72 premières heures… pour la famille. L’infirmière canadienne, 4 (8), 4-10.

St-Denis, Y., Popiea, E. & Coutu-Wakulczyk, G. (2000). La famille-cliente en services de santé: une approche systémique. Reflets, 6(1), 180-190.